Attorneys in Republican DA primary taking aim at Watkins

The battle for the Republican nomination for Dallas County district attorney may be between Susan Hawk and Tom Nowak. But while taking aim at each other, both candidates are already gunning for District Attorney Craig Watkins.

The winner of the March 4 Republican primary will face the two-term Democratic DA in the November general election.

The two Republicans say Watkins, who gained a national reputation for freeing the innocent from prison, is more vulnerable this election.

Watkins’ second term has been dogged by an FBI investigation into his handling of mortgage fraud cases against an oil heir. He was held in contempt in that case although he was later acquitted.

“He hit it out the park in the first inning,” Nowak said of Watkins’ focus on exonerations when he first took office. “But it’s a-nine inning game and every inning, he’s done something wrong since then and he’s down big. We’re at the end of his game.”

Hawk said other Texas counties now look at Dallas County as an embarrassment.

“People think the Dallas County DA’s office is a joke,” Hawk said. “People talk about what a disgrace the Dallas County DA’s office has become.”

Democrats have won all countywide races since 2006 when they swept courthouse elections. Six of Watkins’ prosecutors are running for felony court benches and his top assistant prosecutor, Heath Harris, is hoping to unseat Darlene Ewing for the local Democratic Party chairmanship.

Watkins’ chief campaign consultant, Mark Littlefield, did not respond to a request for comment.

Nowak and Hawk each began at the Dallas County district attorney’s office immediately after graduating from law school; Hawk in 1995 and Nowak in 2005.

Nowak was a prosecutor in the organized crime and child abuse divisions of the DA’s office. He was at the district attorney’s office until 2010 when Watkins fired him after Nowak attended a Republican watch party on election night. The DA’s office has denied the firing was politically motivated.

The firing, Nowak said, ended up being a “blessing in disguise” because it allowed him new experiences in private practice that make him a better candidate for district attorney.

Hawk was the assistant chief of the child abuse unit during her time at the DA’s office, where she tried first- and second-degree felonies and supervised prosecutors and investigators. She ran for the 291st District Court bench in 2002 and won. She was re-elected in 2006 and 2010 and has presided over 33,000 felony cases.

Had she remained on the bench, Hawk would have faced an opponent in the Democratic primary. One of Watkins’ prosecutors was seeking to unseat Hawk. Instead of seeking another term, Hawk resigned to run for district attorney.

She says Nowak’s experience can’t compare with hers.

“My opponent would have to work 15 more years to get the same experience I have at the courthouse,” said Hawk, who added that she has more experience than Nowak and Watkins combined.

Neither candidate has yet raised a lot of money. Hawk has hauled in about $35,000, and Nowak has raised about $20,000.

Both candidates say they would bring changes to the DA’s office that they said would improve morale and the abilities of its prosecutors. Both said that if elected they would not automatically fire prosecutors who want to stay and be loyal to a new boss.

Nowak has said that some prosecutors do their jobs well, others don’t have enough “smarts.” But Hawk said the issue is about better training and mentoring for prosecutors.

“They have zero leadership. They have zero direction from what’s coming up top,” Hawk said. “You need to shake their hands when they’re doing a good job and help them when they are not.”

Nowak said he is running on the principles of integrity, ability and leadership and says these things are lacking under Watkins. He said that if he becomes DA, every prosecutor who wants to stay will be granted an interview.

Nowak said he would “rehire prosecutors based on experience rather than politics. We have no current leadership in trying cases.”

Nowak hammers Hawk for switching parties twice. She was a Republican when first elected. But she became a Democrat to win her last election. She then stepped down late last year to run as a Republican for district attorney.

At forums, in interviews and in a campaign mailer, Nowak seeks to connect Hawk to Watkins.

“I don’t have any way of believing she is being genuine,” Nowak said. “It’s not about doing the right thing, it’s about opportunity for you. And then you have somebody who has got connections to Watkins’ regime, having [his wife] Tanya Watkins as your campaign consultant.”

Hawk said she was never connected to the district attorney but she did hire his wife in 2010 to do community outreach, as did several judges.

“She connected me with different individuals in the southern sector, in the African-American community churches. ‘She sent an email out and said ‘this is the church you are going to go to on Sunday,’” Hawk said. “She did not seek one single endorsement for me. She did not fundraise for me. She did not campaign for me.”

Hawk said her judicial philosophy never changed despite changing political parties.

“My conservative approach to the way I ran my court never changed,” Hawk said. “Having a front row seat to what was happening at the criminal courthouse under the leadership of Craig Watkins … it just became apparent to me that he was the leader of that party and it was something I didn’t want to have anything to do with.”

Follow Jennifer Emily on Twitter @dallascourts.

BACKGROUND: Hawk and Nowak

Susan Hawk, 43, graduated from Texas Wesleyan’s University’s law school in 1995 and began her career at the Dallas County district attorney’s office office. She was deputy chief of the child abuse division for five years and handled first- and second-degree felonies and supervised prosecutors and investigators. She was a state district judge from 2003 until she resigned in October to run for district attorney. While on the bench, she created a program for defendants with mental health issues. Hawk has been endorsed by the Texas Municipal Police Association, the Dallas Police Association and the previous two Republican candidates for district attorney, Toby Shook and Danny Clancy.

Tom Nowak, 34, immigrated from to the U.S. from Poland when he was 6. He graduated from Baylor University’s law school in 2005 and worked at the Dallas County district attorney’s office until 2010. He was promoted in 2006 from the misdemeanor to the felony division, which included stints as an organized crime and child abuse prosecutor. He is now a defense attorney and board certified in criminal law. He is a reservist and captain in the U.S. Air Force, where he is a member of the JAG Corps. Nowak has been endorsed by the Irving Police Association, North Texas Tea Party and Texans for Fiscal Responsibility.

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